Our weekly words 10.20.19

​“Watch your thoughts, they become your words. 
Watch your words, they become your actions. 
Watch your actions, they become your habits. 
Watch your habits, they become your character.
Watch your character, it becomes your destiny.”
-Lao Tzu
 
"Practice is a kind of universal and fundamental skill that is applicable to everything... By being occupied with the doing instead of the achieving, you can stop worrying about the end result... then we can start focusing on the activity of learning, on doing the doing, in full enjoyment of doing."    
-Kasper van der Meulen
 
This week we continued to discuss Kasper’s book, “Mindlift,” and Diana shared personal stories from her Wim Hof training and her time learning from Kasper. Her excitement over the cells, nervous system and molecular science of it all informed her teachings on the Vagus Nerve and her incorporation of innovative modalities that support a healthy nervous system. When facing anxiety, stress, depression... learning to center your mind and utilize your body’s built-in medicine cabinet is a natural and accessible way to shift from your sympathetic to parasympathetic nervous system. From “fight or flight,” to “rest and digest.” We are reminded that our 2 hours of focused breath, movement and drishti on our mat each day should be positively affecting the other 22 hours in the day. This is our time to refill our own cup... to downshift... to quiet ourselves down and be truly present. We are designed to live fully (to be chased by tigers, so to speak), but we are also designed to REST (to return to our “cave”). This retreat is what supports us as we begin to move out of our habitual patterns. We shift from focusing on talent to focusing on effort. Instead of practicing with a goal, we are aiming to be good at practicing. Keep in mind that what you practice is what you become good at. Instead of practicing complaining and worrying, we could be practicing gratitude and love. What do you hope to practice this year?